Today is the last day of March and I think we can safely say that with the end of March comes the official end to the flood/rebuild/move-in saga!!!  Yay!!!  It’s so good to have our house back and Rudy has had fun the past couple of days rediscovering “his space” and toys that were packed away for three months.  🙂  We had a bit of a delay with the carpet installation a couple of weeks ago.  As a result, it didn’t get installed until last week which put us in the middle of Holy Week.  We were able to get the furniture unpacked right away but that was about it…the family’s schedule was full through Easter so the goal shifted to empty the POD this week…just in time for Gma Jo’s arrival next Monday!

The rebuild delays were frustrating toward the end but it’s certainly wonderful to have a fresh, new half a house at the start of spring (the ultimate in spring cleaning!)…just in time, too, as life ramps up  with all the end of the school year activities just around the corner.

March also included some pretty precious “life moments” for Rudy and the family…particularly surrounding Easter.  Here’s a little recap:

The beginning of March was big for Max as he turned 17 years old AND started the spring Lacrosse season at DP!  Hello Spring!!!

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Max playing LAX!

The final step in the rebuild process inspired Olivia’s creativity!  😉

Olivia’s “Floor Art” before the carpet installation.

New carpet smell…Yay for new carpet!!

Between the SBRM recovery program graduation and Easter, we’ve had a lot to celebrate with our friends at the Rescue Mission this month and Rudy was happy to be in the middle of it all…

The SBRM hosted it’s annual Easter Feast for the homeless on the Thursday of Holy Week…Rudy started out as a greeter with me but quickly found a spot in the middle of the courtyard where great fun was to be had…and where there is never a shortage of attention to be harnessed!

photo credit: Dale Weber

A blessed time with some very special friends…

After the Rescue Mission feast, we stopped at church for a Maundy Thursday tradition that includes a symbolic foot-washing activity.  Olivia sat Rudy down and quietly explained to him how and why we were doing it.  Eager to do what we were doing, Rudy quickly joined in and helped wash all our feet!!!

This week is spring break for Max, Olivia and Rudy but Rudy is flying solo here at home with me and Rolf because Max and Olivia went to Mexico with their youth group to work on a building project and help at an orphanage.  ‘So excited for them but we miss them TONS!

Max and Livy off to Mexico!

Max lending a helping hand in Ensenada

It has been an active month for Rudy.  He ends most days with his head hitting the pillow hard in anticipation of good sleep.  Many nights he doesn’t even make it to the bed…

Play hard.  Live hard.  Sleep hard.  That’s how Rudy rolls and we’re so thankful for the special experiences he so joyfully embraced this month.  This month also included quite a few medical appointments & consultations which serve to reinforce how truly special all the “life stuff” is!!!  Ever so grateful,

The rebuild after our New Year’s Day flood continues to make progress…it’s actually moving along at a decent pace (thanks to Rolf’s woodworking skills) but projects like these always take longer than is convenient and I’m starting to experience crazy cabin fever requiring me to actively practice patience…I’m more than ready to unpack the POD and get our house put back together again.

I celebrated my 50th on February 27th and the bday fun lasted all weekend long.  Thanks to Rolf and the big kids, there was a nice balance of family, friends & surprises which made turning fifty pretty awesome!!  I have much to be thankful for at this stage in my life and it just doesn’t seem right to begrudge the aging process so I’m embracing the big 5-0 and praying for patience in that process as well.  😉

With that said, I’m kind of surprised by my delayed reaction to having a child a little later in life.  When Rudy was born, I wasn’t bugged by the fact that I was an older mom…in fact, once I got over the shock of being pregnant again, I welcomed the challenge.  Now, all of a sudden, I’m taken back a bit…in a season where so many of my friends are watching their kids get married and they’re becoming grandparents for the first time, it feels foreign to be 50 and still have a 7 year old.  I know it’s not that big of deal because, more & more, women are having babies in their 40s but there aren’t too many in my circle and I guess it just feels like being an older mom adds an additional spotlight to this milestone bday in particular.  🙂  Not a bad thing…just a unique piece of my puzzle to process.

We ended the weekend by attending a Global Leadership Connection Ceremony to support Max and fellow juniors selected from SB area high schools.  It was quite inspiring and I was glad to end my birthday weekend on such an encouraging, hopeful note.

Rudy had his annual physical last week.  It was an encouraging visit where Rudy’s general health is concerned.  Rudy’s weight gain in the last 6 months bumped him up to the 25% percentile for his age and his height remains in the 10% percentile.  Dr. Abbott was impressed by Rudy’s developmental progress (especially evident to him in his speech) and the healthy winter Rudy has had so far.  We do need to follow up with the urologist again, however, because of a pesky undescended testicle.  Although the urologist hasn’t felt it necessary to address it in past visits, Dr. Abbott wants it checked out again and corrected at some point.  We see Dr. Harake for a cardiology check up on Friday…not expecting any change there.  It’s a full week with various appointments, Max’s 17th birthday on Thursday and a SBRM graduation on Saturday.  Life is filling up again as we approach the official start to spring!!!  Woo Hoo…Welcome Spring!!!!!!

We said goodbye to our Dodge Caravan last week and welcomed a new-to-us Toyota Sienna into the family…after multiple repairs and a few thousand dollars, it was clear the caravan was on it’s last leg and we were forced to face the inevitable purchase of another medical van.  We are blessed to have safe, reliable transportation again…something I don’t take for granted for sure!!

I have been struck lately by how truly evident God’s grace is in the lives of the big sibs…they are investing their time in good things and they manage it all well.  I am in awe of them and grateful for the many ways they inspire me daily.

Maxo is busy juggling the end of his hockey season while starting up LaCrosse practice at the high school…he was asked to speak at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club at school this past week and was recognized for his leadership potential recently with a nomination to participate in the GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE…open to selected juniors from all the area high schools each year.  It’s fun to watch him grow as a young leader…

We got a fun glimpse into Wilson’s world through pics from his first military ball this weekend.  He is thriving at APU and loves his ROTC experience so far.  He’s getting closer to fulfilling his childhood dreams…makes me proud and scared all at the same time.

Olivia’s volleyball season started today and her team grabbed second place overall in the tournament!  It’s thrilling to watch our girl play hard and enjoy herself…she is disciplined and elegant on and off the court.

And then there is Rudy who embraces is all with GREAT enthusiasm…whether it is school, church, playing with cars on his bedroom floor or watching his big sibs sporting events…Rudy’s joy in all things is contagious (and a little humbling)!  😉

Life has it’s daily challenges but it’s moments like these that bring meaning to the tough stuff!  ‘Grateful for it all today.

Rudy came home early from school on Friday with a bug…a thick cough, congestion and low energy.  Thankfully he hasn’t registered a fever but the congestion kept him home from school yesterday and today as well.  Although we’ve laid low at home mostly, we did stop by Rudy’s class on Monday briefly to share a little bit about CHDs for National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week…so grateful for the opportunity to share with Rudy’s classmates!  😉  We’re hoping Rudy can lick this bug quick and head back to school by Thursday to share in his classroom’s Valentine exchange.

Thinking of and celebrating Rudy, his fellow heart warriors and our heart heroes who have passed away…all of whom personify one of my favorite quotes: “In the end it won’t matter if you have a few scars, but it will matter if you didn’t live.” -Rich Mullins.

‘Grateful for the lessons we’re learning from Rudy about what it means to really live.

Rudy’s class got another “behind the scenes” look at a local hamburger joint during a field trip to In ‘n Out yesterday.  It was a fun time to hang out with friends and it also turned out to be a very helpful exercise in how to order food at a restaurant…turns out Rudy is a fast learner!

It just so happened that we stopped at Carl’s Jr later in the day for a quick dinner between activities and Rudy insisted on ordering for himself!!!  Ha Ha  He confused the workers a little bit by ordering things they don’t offer on their menu but he was very proud to show off his new big boy skill…now if we can just get him to eat all this food he is so motivated to order.  😉

So January was a bit of a wash (no pun intended) in terms of our flood project as we waited for the various bids to come in and the insurance details to be processed but the asbestos and contaminated  material removal began last week and is moving pretty quickly now!  We’re hoping to start the rebuild in the next week or so.

January was pretty full anyway so I suppose the timing of everything is as it should be.  Wilson headed back to school just in time to miss all the demolition fun…we miss him but he’s happy to back into the swing of things on campus.

Rudy’s first dr. appointment of 2016 was with his cardiologist and, once again, the echo revealed no change in Rudy’s heart function.   As a result, Dr. Harake recommends we NOT schedule a heart cath any time soon and we welcome a procedure free winter for sure.  Some doctors recommend a routine annual cath for kids like Rudy whether the echo shows any change or not.  We appreciate Dr. Harake’s more conservative approach and will take full advantage of this next season in school and therapy without interruption.

Speaking of therapy, Rudy has been working on “self-care” in occupational therapy and actually goes to OT on Wednesday mornings in his pajamas so he can dress himself with his OT Jeanine…they like to sing “Do Your Ears Hang Low” and this particular morning, Rudy’s certainly were!!!

Rolf and Max enjoyed a dude trip up to San Jose over MLK Weekend for a hockey tournament…so glad for the occasional awesome pic of our hockey rock star –

Speaking of hockey, Rudy made a surprising new friend at the hockey rink last week.  Rudy isn’t a big fan of dogs generally but Wally made for a fun walking partner during Max’s game.  They became fast friends and wore each other out…both Rudy and Wally fell asleep on their rides home from the rink that night!!!  Ha Ha

Tomorrow is Rudy’s “Move-a-thon” at his school and he had fun this past month raising $1 donations to meet his $50 goal!  His daily walks to the mailbox have been good conditioning…in addition to the dog walking  😉

Rudy and his special ed classmates got to go on a fun field trip to Kyle’s Kitchen (a favorite eatery in town that supports special needs programs)…Kyle goes to Rudy’s school and is a special big buddy.  Rudy LOVED getting a “behind the scenes look” at our favorite spot!!  Click here to see a quick video about our friend!

Rudy LOVES the soup at Kyle’s Kitchen and got to see how it’s made…thumbs up from Rudy!!!

We enjoyed a messy dinner (complete with condiment art) on the eve of the asbestos abatement.  We’re looking forward to new carpet and fresh paint at the end of this process.  🙂

Our quarters have been a little small since the plastic barricade went up but the kids have been troopers and are making the most of it.  We’re starting February 2016 excited to have our house back in order and SUPER grateful for insurance!  😉